MS 150, Day 1

Woke up this morning at 6am to prep and ride. Once we got over to the high school we registered. We put our numbers on and picked up some freebies.

As we prepared to start, they had us wait due to severe storms. We ignored them trying to stop us and went to breakfast at this nice little diner. I had french toast, it was amazing. After breakfast we headed out into the dense cold fog for our long day in the saddle.

The first half hour was quite cold. But it warmed up, the skies parted and the sun came out. From then on, the weather was beautiful....with the exeption of that pesky wind. It was directly out of the west off the lake around 25 mph, and gusting up to 40mph. (Tailwind = fun)

The first hour wasn't bad, once we got into a rythm of rotating the workload and passing other cyclists. Then we made a mistake. We missed a turn...somewhere. After going through two intersections where there were no markings, we knew something was wrong. So Scott pulls out the map and Darrell gets on his Blackberry to find our location and route us back. We ended up adding 8 miles to our 100 mile trip. (for Doug, 100 + 8 = 108 miles)

Once back on course we stopped and got water, PB&J and banannas. From there we continued along the lake on our way to lunch. After flying down a westerly road, we made a left hand turn. Not far past said turn, Scott flatted. Not just a pinch flat, it was like he rode over a razor blade. Whatever he hit sliced through his tire and tube. Once we got it replaced it was buldging a bit. We made it another 5 miles before he flatted again. He told us to ride the next two miles to the lunch stop without him and send a SAG vehicle back. So we did. but he replaced that tube and rode the the lunch stop. There he bought a new tire.

The last half of the ride was pretty eventless. We had to slow a bit for James to stay with us. Once we hit the century loop we had a ton of tailwind time. The downside, we had to ride back.

On the way back Darrell and Scott rode in front and me to the side allowing a pocket for James to ride in. We stopped at the 100 mile mark so James could take in the moment of his first century.

Once we got back, we went to dinner and carboloaded. After that Scott and I went to the local bike shop and had massages. It has been a fun day. One down/upside. I didnt wear sunscreen. So the downside, I an burned. The upside, my tanlines are smokin'.